


Isaac the Incomparable

by jayofmo



Category: Isaac the Incomparable
Genre: Gen, Magic, Magic-Users, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, w - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-07-18 20:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7328971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jayofmo/pseuds/jayofmo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Original character story about a boy who can actually do magic and his best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Talent Show

 

 

     “Hey, dweeb!” a voice yelled.

     Isaac Penworth sighed and turned, ducking to avoid the fist aimed at his face.

     “Good morning, Rob,” he sighed.

     “Thought I told you to bring my money!” Rob growled, brandishing his fist.

     “Remind me what for?”

     “Better to be in my circle than out of it, and the only way you'll get in is with cash. I know your folks are loaded, so pay up!”

     Isaac sighed and turned out his pockets. They were empty.

     “You got one more shot, Penworth, or you're going to get it!” Rob pushed Isaac into the wall of lockers and stomped off down the hall.

     Isaac pulled himself together and stood back up. Looking at the bully casually walking away, he began to murmur to himself and raise his hands.

     “Are you okay?” asked someone behind him. The voice was kind and caring. Isaac put his hands to his sides as he turned to see a boy with fair sandy brown hair and a calm smile on his face.

     “Yeah,” sighed Isaac at last. “I just hate dealing with that guy.”

    “Don't worry about him,” grinned the boy. “He only bullies you if you let him. His circle begins and ends with its only member: himself. It's pretty pitiful, really.”  
  
     Isaac smiled. “Isaac Penworth,” he said, reaching for the boy's hand.

     The boy grabbed Isaac's hand and shook it. “Hey, aren't your older brothers Colin and Lewis?”  
  
     “Yeah, is that a problem?”

     “My sister won't shut up about Lewis!” chuckled the boy. “She has such a crush on him.”  
  
     “... and you are?”

     “Call me Rudolf,” the boy replied. “Rudolf Jones. I'm in your class.”  
  
     Isaac sighed and thought about his third grade class. He didn't talk much with the other students, but he was sure there was no one named Rudolf on the class list.

     “Are you sure?”

     “Well, my parents named me Jeffrey, but I'm totally a Rudolf. Isn't Jeffrey a hideous name?”

     “No.”

     Rudolf crossed his arms.

     “Well, it's not the right name for me. I should know. I'm me.”

     “But wouldn't your parents know the best name for you?”

     “Not in this case,” chuckled Rudolf. “I wanna get it legally changed when I grow up. Hey, what were you doing when I walked up?”

     Isaac sighed and thought a moment before answering with one single word.

     “Magic.”

     “Like the card game?” Rudolf asked.

     “No,” Isaac said. He waved his hand and his locker opened. His backpack levitated and put itself into the storage space and then the door closed and locked. “Magic.”

     Rudolf stared.

     “That is… _so cool!_ ” he said at last. “Can your brothers do it too?”  
  
     “No,” Isaac replied, walking to the classroom. “I don't know anyone else who can.”  
  
     “There's gotta be _somebody_ ,” Rudolf went on.

     “It's not as if it's something you'd want to ask someone right away. By the way, don't tell anyone.”

     “Why not? You'd be the coolest kid in the school!”

     “And whenever something goes wrong, everyone's gonna blame it on that magic kid.” He sighed. “And that's if they're all cool about it.”

     “Why wouldn't they be?”

     “It can get scary.”

     Rudolf looked up. They were just outside the classroom.

     “How about you come visit my house after school?”

     Isaac shrugged. “I'll have to okay it with my mom, but sure, I'd like that.”

 

     “So, why is it a secret?” Rudolf asked as they sat in his room.

     Isaac sighed. “It's just… Magic is strange, you know? It doesn't normally happen and when people see something strange, they're often afraid of it.”

     “Well, it's not like you hurt anyone, right?”

     Isaac looked at Rudolf, then at the floor.

     “You hurt someone with your magic?” Rudolf asked incredulously.

     “I… I don't know…” Isaac said after a moment. “I did something and told my mom, and she told me never to talk about magic again.”

     “What did you do?”

     Isaac looked down at his feet. “I don't wanna talk about it.” Rudolf shrugged.

     “Okay… hey, do you like comic books?”

     Isaac looked up, interested. “Well, yeah. I haven't seen a lot of them...”

     Rudolf went to his closet and pulled out a box.

     “Here, take a look, I think you'll like them.”

     Isaac thumbed through the box of comic books. Rudolf had all types. _Archie_ , _Superman_ , _Fantastic Four_ , _Justice League_ , _Amazing Spider-Man_ , _Uncle Scrooge_ , _Donald Duck_ , _Kevin Keller_ , _Teen Titans_ , _Batman_ , _The Avengers_ , and a few issues of _Zatanna_.

     “Nice...” Isaac said, thumbing through a comic. “My mom doesn't like me reading a lot of fiction. Says I need to keep my head out of the clouds.”

     “Yeah, whatever, my mom and dad say reading's good for you. How about you come over every day? You can read all my comics.”

     Isaac shrugged. “Mom says I need to make more friends. She'll probably be fine with it.”

 

     As it turned out, Mrs. Penworth was fine with her son visiting his friend every day after school, particularly one so athletic as “Jeffrey.” She assumed that he'd be a good influence on Isaac and make him forget all about this magic nonsense he kept talking about.

     Isaac and Rudolf did keep active together and became fast friends, but Isaac loved reading Rudolf's comics, and in time, they began reading novels together as well. The Oz books, the Harry Potter series, they loved them. Together, their imaginations continued to grow and become more complex.

     Isaac's older brothers Colin and Lewis soon made Rudolf's acquaintance and they liked him. They knew Isaac needed a friend, and he'd finally found one. Isaac's younger sister Robyn, however, was a little more reserved, but wound up befriending Rudolf's sister Abigail.

     One day, Rudolf made a suggestion while they were looking over comics in his room.

     “So, the school talent show is coming up,” he said.

     “Yeah, what about it?” Isaac asked.

     “We should be in it.”

     “Doing what?”

     “A magic act! You can do magic for real, remember?” Isaac nodded.

     “Well, yeah, but...” he sighed. “I don't want to do that.”

     Rudolf grabbed an issue of _Zatanna_ and held it up. “Come on! We can be just like Zatanna!”

     Isaac shrugged.

     “Look, every kid dreams of doing something really, really cool,” Rudolf went on. “But you're different! You can actually do it!”

     “I don't want to get in trouble.”

     “We won't do anything that doesn't look like it could be a trick, but they won't know it isn't.”  
  
     “You think I should pretend I'm tricking everyone when I'm actually doing real magic?” Isaac asked. “That's… crazy.”  
  
     “It's showmanship!”

     Isaac sighed and looked down at Rudolf's box of comics. New ones had been added over time, old ones were looking a little more worn now. But they told stories about characters who did incredible things, characters who were larger than life. Isaac realized he could be just like them. Okay, sure, none of them were a dorky kid with magic powers—except maybe Zatanna—but still… he could do it.

     “Okay, we'll do it!” Isaac said at last. “Just you have to be my assistant.”  
  
     “As if I'd be doing anything else!” Rudolf cheered, hugging his friend. “We're going to make it spectacular! Just, what are we going to do? Card tricks are old.”  
  
     Isaac looked at the box of comics. “I bet we can find some ideas in here...”  
  
     He pulled up an old issue of The Atom: “The Fate of the Flattened-Out Atom.” He smiled. “Yeah...”

 

     The talent show was faring as well as one would expect. Sylvia Martin had sung a rousing song that no one remembered by the end of the night, Donnie Eaton had done a little comedy routine, and a few students had even gotten together to act out a few sketches. To say the audience was restless was an understatement. Many parents would have left after their child had performed if it hadn't looked rude.

     The principal got back onstage and looked at her sheet. “All right, closing out our show is… Isaac Penworth and Jeffrey Jones doing a magic act.”

     Isaac stepped out onstage. He was dressed in his best suit that he'd wear for special occasions.

     “That's Isaac the Incomparable and Rudolf,” he said.

     The principal shot him a blank look and went back to her seat. Just what, five minutes? And they could send everyone home, sweep up, and she could go home.

     Isaac looked out across the crowd. “Hey, everyone,” he said loud and clearly. “Um… I did some research and found some tricks that I think you'll like… so enjoy the show.”

     Isaac glanced out towards where his family sat. There were his parents. His dad looked a little suspicious. Mom was frowning. Robyn leaned against her mother. Colin and Lewis were sitting on the edge of their seats to get a better look. Next to Lewis was a tall gentleman who Isaac recognized, but couldn't quite place. Oh, well, on with the show!

     Isaac pulled a top hat out of his jacket. No one batted an eye. Although there hadn't been room for such a hat, everyone assumed it was collapsible.  
  
     “Introducing my wonderful assistant, Rudolf!” called Isaac. He put the hat on the stage and pulled it up. Rudolf appeared under the hat, dressed in tank top and jeans, seemingly appearing from underneath it.

     Okay, that was impressive. The audience began to perk up.

     “Smoke and mirrors,” someone muttered.

     Isaac chuckled and made the hat disappear in a puff of smoke. The audience was now watching intently. This was actually interesting!

     Isaac walked to one end of the stage and pulled out a long box on wheels. It was divided in the middle and opened up into two flaps on the top.

     “Since we're at school, let's go over the basics of division,” Isaac said as Rudolf climbed into the box, his feet sticking out of one end and his head out of the other.

     Isaac pulled a blade from underneath the box and put it right where the box split.

     “You have one item, and then you cut it in half,” Isaac continued, and lowered the blade between the two boxes forcefully. He slipped the blade back under the box and pushed the two halves apart.

     “Now, you have two!” he finished.

     Rudolf smiled and opened the flap of the half of his box near his head. He hopped out, completely in one piece.

     “Hah!” someone snorted. “I knew it was baloney!” Isaac grinned as he and Rudolf opened the other half. Out of it rose an exact duplicate of Rudolf.

     “He's twins!” the snorter called.

     “Oh no, he's not,” responded a woman. “And being his mother, I'd certainly know that!” The two Rudolfs smiled and turned the box on its side. Now it had four sections. They put it upright and opened it up.

     Isaac stepped into the box and chuckled. “Hope I don't go to pieces.”

     The two Rudolfs closed the box, except for the top one, showing Isaac's face. They each pulled one of the two middle sections to two different sides. Isaac peered out. The top section was seemingly floating in air, and just below it, the next section was also floating to the left. The one underneath was over to the right, while the bottom part was still on the ground.

     By this time, the audience was applauding. Finally, something interesting was going on!

     Isaac chuckled. “Hey, I thought you two were my friends!”  
  
     “Sometimes friends have a way of doing that,” the Rudolfs said before pushing Isaac back together. Isaac stepped out of the box in one piece and bowed to more applause.

     “And now for our finale!” called Isaac.

     The two Rudolfs lifted the box back on its back, where it stood on wheels again. They climbed into it. Now, there was a wringer at the end.

     “That is one fancy prop...” someone muttered.

     The two Rudolfs climbed into the box and Isaac began turning the wringer. The audience watched as a single, flattened Rudolf rolled out of the wringer. Isaac held him up for the audience to see. They clapped and laughed.

     “And you're thinking, 'He's still inside the box,' but you'd be wrong.” Isaac touched a latch and the box fell open, revealing nothing. “This is really him!”

     Isaac then folded Rudolf like a paper airplane and hurled him to the back of the audience. There was a flash of light and Rudolf, single and three-dimensional, stood back there, smiling, his arms crossed. The audience applauded and Isaac pushed the box off the stage, where it vanished behind a curtain, but unseen to the audience, it also vanished into thin air.

     Isaac stepped offstage, beaming. Rudolf ran up to him and hugged him. Isaac glanced at his family. His mother was scowling, his father looked disappointed, Robyn was smiling, Colin and Lewis were excitedly whispering to each other, but the familiar man got up and walked to Isaac.

     “Hey there,” he said.

     “Hey,” Isaac replied.

     “I'd like to have a word with you, if I may… Bring your friend, too.”

     “Wait, who are you?” Rudolf asked.

     The man looked surprised.

     “Isaac, you don't recognize your uncle Edwin?”

     Isaac looked up. “Oh, right!” he said and smiled. “It's you. But what do you want to talk to me for?”

     “It's obvious, isn't it?” Edwin said. “You're the latest man of magic in the family.”


	2. Pulling the Wool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isaac gets some information from his Uncle Edwin, then has to pull an act bigger than his first magic show: tricking everyone into forgetting about it.

Isaac glanced over as Rudolf eagerly sipped at his milkshake. Uncle Edwin had taken them out for a little treat to celebrate the show, despite Isaac's mother saying he should really be getting to bed. However, it was Friday night, so they could sleep in.

“So… what was that you were saying after the show?” Rudolf asked, breaking the silence.

“About Isaac being the latest man of magic?” Edwin replied.

“Yeah, what did you mean by 'latest?'” Isaac asked.

Edwin sighed. “You're not the first Penworth who could do things like that, and certainly not the only person.”

Isaac looked up in surprise. “What? Who?”

“Well… me.”

“You can do magic too?”

Edwin sighed. “Not anymore.”

Rudolf glanced up. “You mean it goes away?”

“No, let me explain. Have you heard of your great-grandfather Nicholas, Isaac?”

Isaac shrugged. “No.” He'd never thought about who his grandparent's parents were.

“He had powers just like yours,” Edwin went on. “Spent a few years working with a circus.”

Isaac was surprised.

“So this runs in the family?”

“I'd think so. Now, there hasn't been a lot of study, except for what I did. I can't get any serious research opened up because none of them take me seriously. So, what I'm going to say is nothing conclusive or definite, but what I'm guessing from what I've observed.”

“Hey, your milkshake's melting,” Rudolf observed. Isaac took a few eager sips.

Edwin grinned. “Well, from what I gather, every person could have magic powers, maybe we all do, but only a small number of people can actually harness them.”

“Why do you think that is?” Rudolf asked.

“I don't know. In the Bible, it says we're made in the image of God. Maybe this goes a bit further.”

“I thought our family was Jewish,” Isaac shrugged. The Penworths weren't really religious at all, but a few traditions had stuck with the family.

“For whatever reason, here we are. Maybe it's some mix of genes and chromosomes that lets you channel it.”

“Or maybe you needed it and got it,” Rudolf suggested, finishing his milkshake.

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

“So, you had powers as well?” Isaac asked.

“Yeah. I never made a show of them, but I used them occasionally. Came in handy.”

Rudolf waited for Edwin to elaborate. Isaac slowly drank more of his milkshake. Edwin only smiled faintly.

“Like what?” Rudolf asked at last.

Edwin chuckled. “Maybe I'll tell you when you're older. Let's just say Earl and I had our fun.”

“Who's Earl?”

Edwin blushed. “Earl was my… partner.”

“You mean like a boyfriend?”

“Well… yes.”

Rudolf grinned. “My mom tells me that there's nothing wrong with being gay, especially if you really love somebody.”

“How nice of her,” Edwin chuckled. “I know it's not so easy for Isaac there.”

“Yeah,” Isaac sighed. “Mom told us we better never do that...”

Edwin nodded. “Well, Earl and I really did love each other. A lot. And then one day, he was gone. No note, no call, no address, his phone number wasn't active, and none of our friends knew where he'd gone.”

Rudolf nodded his head while Isaac thought.

“And your powers were gone at the same time?” Isaac asked.

“Yeah, it was strange, two of the most important things in my life, just vanished.”

Isaac poked at the remainder of his milkshake. This was a lot to take in. His own personal secret wasn't a secret anymore, and there were questions no one could answer.

“Anyway,” Rudolf said at last, “after that show, we'll be the cool kids!”

“Yeah, about that,” Edwin muttered, “you really shouldn't have done that.”

“What?” Isaac asked, looking up.

“The kids at school will want you to do all sorts of things now. You do that, one thing leads to another, I can guarantee there'll be trouble somehow.”

“I'm a good kid.”

“I don't doubt that, but there's always someone who'll take something you did and make people think you did something else.”

“Yeah, that'll happen,” Rudolf commented after thinking for a moment. “Like the kids who dare you to read a dirty word on the slide then tell the teacher you swore.”

“That happened to you too?” Isaac asked in surprise. Rudolf nodded. “So what do we do? We've already blown the secret.”

Edwin sighed. “Well, I don't like to suggest it, but you need to make them think it was all an illusion.”

“How are we going to convince people of that?”

“You don't need to explain it all,” Edwin went on. “Just one or two things. People want to know the answers. Once they have enough to think it was all a trick, they'll be satisfied.”

Isaac sighed. For a moment, he'd thought about being respected at school. No more bullies, no more getting passed over to play games with, just feeling like a normal kid for once.

“Okay,” he finally said with a sigh, “I guess we'll do that.”

He lifted his shake glass to his lips and gulped down the rest of the melted slosh in the bottom of it.

 

Isaac carefully walked into school, looking over his shoulder to see if anyone was going to approach him. Nope, no one. He didn't say a word to anyone, no one said anything to him, and to be honest, he wasn't sure anyone actually saw him.

Isaac sighed as he walked in to the building. No one turned to look at him, no one cheered, no one whistled, no one called his name.

_Okay,_ he thought as he walked to the lockers,  _no one cares about the talent show, no one wants me to do anything, Isaac Penworth is just gonna sink back into the…_

“Hi, there!” a strange voice called.

Isaac turned to see a girl slightly taller than himself with glasses walking towards him.

“Hey?” he replied nervously.

“I just wanted to say your magic show was awesome!” she continued as she walked towards him. “It all looked so real!”

Isaac nodded. “Yeah, I learned some good tricks.”

She smiled. “Well, my name's Jami and...”

Rudolf hurried up to them.

“Isaac, we need to get to...”

Before he could say anything else, about two dozen other students hurried up.

“Was that real?” some of them asked.

“Do some magic!” others demanded.

“You're so cool!” a few said.

“Oh boy...” Isaac sighed.

“Our fan club caught me a bit ago,” Rudolf explained.

So that was why no one had approached Isaac. They were all hounding Rudolf.

“Guys, it was just an act,” Isaac said to everyone. “You couldn't really do those things.”

He wasn't exactly lying. They couldn't. But he could.

“But it was so cool!” someone said.

“And how did you make that flat Rudolf?” a familiar voice asked. It was Rob, the same guy who'd bullied him for so long.

Isaac carefully opened his locker and took out a large, folded up cardboard cutout of Rudolf. It was badly creased.

“It was just cardboard and some clever visual tricks,” Isaac said.

Rob grabbed the cardboard Rudolf and ripped it in half.

“Hey!” Jami yelled. “That's not cool!”

“You're a PHONY!” Rob huffed. He stormed away.

A couple kids picked up the cardboard cutout.

“We can tape it up,” they offered.

“Don't worry,” Isaac replied. “I don't think I'll need it again.”

Rudolf smiled. “It's nice that you all liked the act, though.”

Jami grabbed Isaac's hand. “Hey, it doesn't matter if your act was fake or not. It's the quality of the performance that matters, and I think you have some real talent! So, you and Rudolf should join the drama club! You can learn to get better and we can work with some really talented people.”

A lot of the kids were walking away.

“I think it'd be a good idea,” Rudolf commented. “We could make some new friends.”

Isaac smiled. “Yeah, why not?”

“Great!” Jami cheered. “I can't wait for you two little lovebirds to join us!”

Isaac blinked. “Lovebirds?”

“Yeah, you're boyfriends, right?”

Isaac and Rudolf looked at each other. They'd never thought of their relationship being like that. Still, it'd make sense.

“We're just...” Rudolf began.

“...not committing to anything,” Isaac finished. “We're still young, anything could happen.”

Jami nodded. “Sure. I expect a wedding invite.”

 

Isaac and Rudolf would later remember the drama class as one of the best decisions they'd ever made. They both had strong presence onstage and would often get picked for featured roles, and sometimes even the leads. When they didn't have roles, they'd help backstage.

Jami became their fast friend, and would occasionally visit them. She shared their love of fantasy books and comics, and would tell them about how she lived in Trinidad before her dad moved to Maine with herself and her sister. She even told them that her real name was Jamiyla, but she liked the simple name “Jami,” and she didn't question why Rudolf didn't like the name Jeffrey.

Through the years at school, Isaac and Rudolf became more social and would visit and hang out with other kids. But as for themselves, they were inseparable.

Uncle Edwin's advice worked out. No one mentioned magic to Isaac again for a very long time.


	3. Coming Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of Isaac's siblings has a secret they uncover, which leads Isaac to embrace something about himself.

The year Isaac and Rudolf turned eighteen saw a wide variety of changes in their lives in a very short time. Of course, both of them completed high school. By this time, only Isaac and Robyn lived with their parents in their big house, and now, Rudolf would often visit the Penworth home as well. Colin and Lewis had gone to California to study at a university there.

Isaac wasn't sure if it was because he was getting older or if he hadn't done any magic where his mother could find out, but she became far less strict about what Isaac was allowed to read and enjoy at home.

Rudolf and Isaac were beginning to see each other less. Their bond wasn't growing weaker, but Rudolf's mother had inherited a home near San Francisco and by the end of the summer, Rudolf and his family would be moving out west. The two young men would still contact each other when they couldn't be around each other in person, but with them soon having to live on opposite ends of the country, they'd have to face the fact that they couldn't be around each other very much anymore.

Isaac was thinking he'd study in New York, maybe join some avant garde theater group, maybe fall in love, get married, but the words of Jami had always lingered in his mind.

“Yeah, you're boyfriends, right?”

Well, _weren't_ they?

But what would mom say to her son being gay? Or bisexual? Isaac wasn't sure. He just knew that he'd deeply miss Rudolf when he moved away. He'd never dated anyone. For that matter, neither had Rudolf. Or were they dating each other and they'd just never called it that?

Thoughts like this had been in his mind since that day when Jami had called them a couple, but they'd become increasingly common since Rudolf mentioned his family moving away.

It was a Saturday afternoon when Robyn knocked softly on the door to Isaac's room.

“Hey there,” Isaac said as he opened the door.

“Can I come in and talk to you about something?” Robyn asked. “I just need to talk to someone.”

“Sure.” He let her enter the room.

They both sat on the bed. Robyn was quiet for a few minutes and looked very intensely at the floor.

“I just… I always felt a little like something was different about me,” she said at last. “But I… I met someone at school this last year.”

“That's nice,” Isaac commented.

Robyn sighed. “ Her name's Britta, and she's a trans girl .”

Isaac shrugged. “And  you don't think mom and dad are cool about it? ”

“No, it's something else. You see, we became friends, and I was curious about her being trans, so I asked her about it, and she told me. And well… it clicked that that was exactly what I was feeling.”

Isaac suddenly looked at Robyn seriously.

“And what do you think about that?” he asked after a minute of silence.

“I looked up some more stuff on the internet, and it matches me to a T. I'm a boy, I've always been one.”

Isaac sighed.

“Why did you tell me? You barely ever talk to me when you don't have to.”

Robyn shrugged.

“I needed to tell someone in person. And yeah, we don't talk much, but… you're here. And I felt like you'd listen. Mom… I don't think she'd understand. Dad would want me to tell her too. But you'd understand.”

Isaac smiled.

“I guess I have something to confess to you, too, then,” he said after a moment's silence. “And I want to tell you I'm very, very sorry.”

“What?”

“You remember when I did that magic show?”

“Yeah, it was weird.”

“It was real. I have magical abilities that let me do some amazing things.”

Robyn blinked.

“You're putting me on.”

Isaac sighed.

“When I was four, mom was pregnant with you, and she came home with her first ultrasound and told us we were going to have another brother.”

“What?”

“She then said she'd wanted to have a little girl after three boys, and I thought I'd make her happy and make sure she had a girl. Next time they had an ultrasound, they revised it and said it was going to be a girl. Because of what I did. To you.”

Robyn was looking at him sternly.

“You turned me into a girl?”

“I'm sorry, but I can fix it!”

“But… should you?”

“Yes, it's my fault. I shouldn't have tried to change you to make mom happy.”

Robyn sat back. “You were four. You were dumb. And no one knew you'd done it.”

“I did tell mom. She told me to shut up about this magic nonsense.”

Robyn sighed.

“You know… your act way back then was weird, but it was a fun kind of weird. You should try to do it again.”

“But what about you?” Isaac asked. “I can't just not do something.”

“Some people like me can't afford to transition, and some can and they go through with it.”

“You're thirteen. You'd need mom and dad behind you on it. Do you think they'd understand?”

“Well, no.”

“I shouldn't pressure you into this, but you should let me fix it.”

“Can you please stop saying 'fix?' I'm a person, not air conditioning.”

“Well, sure. I just want to help.”

Robyn thought.

“Well, okay, but you gotta be ready for mom and dad to freak out. Because there's no way they won't.”

 

“I told you to never mention magic again,” Mrs. Penworth grunted.

“Mom,” protested Robyn, “it's okay, I'm who I'm supposed to be!”

“You were supposed to be my little girl!” she cried.

“No, this is who I've always been!”

“Julie,” Mr. Penworth said sternly. “Let's hear Robyn out. Everyone, sit down.”

Isaac and Robyn sat down on one of the couches in the family den. Mr. and Mrs. Penworth took a seat on one facing them.

“So, you're a boy now,” Mr. Penworth began.

“No,” Robyn said, shaking his head. “I've always been a boy. It's my gender identity.”

“And the whole thing was my fault,” Isaac added.

“I know you're upset, mom,” Robyn added meekly, “but I'm happy like this, shouldn't that matter?”

There was a long silence.

“I love you kids,” Mr. Penworth said at last. “And Robyn, I love you whether you're my son or my daughter.”

“Isaac, you need to leave,” Mrs. Penworth said sternly.

“What?” Isaac felt as if someone had slapped him in the face.

“I don't want you back in my home ever again.”

“Julie,” Mr. Penworth said calmly, “don't be rash about this.”

“Get your stuff and get out,” she continued as if she hadn't heard a thing.

Isaac stood up and began walking out of the house. He'd grown up here, every bit of wood, carpet, wallpaper and paint was familiar, but now, he felt alien there. He didn't belong. He wasn't wanted. He wasn't going to say goodbye. He didn't want to say goodbye. He didn't even want to go to his room. He could get new clothes. Everything else could be replaced. Let what little he owned stay there as a reminder. Or they could get rid of it. He didn't care. It was a clean break.

 

Maggie Jones was of course more than happy to let her son's best friend stay with the family. Isaac told them the entire story, holding no details back. Of course the Jones family felt it was extreme and unfair to kick Isaac out, but he was eighteen now and could legally make decisions about what he was going to do with his life.

“Well,” Rudolf's sister Hannah suggested as they sat around the kitchen table for dinner, “how about he moves out with us to California?”

“You'd be welcome to!” Maggie offered with a big smile. “You're in and out of here so much, you might as well be one of the family.”

Rudolf looked over at Isaac and saw Isaac glancing at him.

_Please come_ , Rudolf's eyes begged, and Isaac understood.

“Sure,” he said. “Might as well start over new with you guys… girls… girls and guy…”

“Just call us dudes,” Abigail, Rudolf's other sister chuckled.

Isaac's phone rang. Well, his parents hadn't already cut that off. The ID screen said that it was Lewis.

“I need to take this,” Isaac muttered and walked into the living room.

“Hello?” he said, answering the phone.

“Dude, wow,” Lewis replied. “I just got off the phone with Robyn and sh… he told me what happened. You okay, bro?”

“No,” Isaac sighed. “But I'll get there.”

Lewis whistled. “So, where are you at now?”

“I'm at Rudolf's house, they're letting me stay with them, and we're moving out to San Francisco soon.”

“Wow, that's great, man! … Well, not great that it happened, but… Our university is right by there, we'll be able to hang out!”

Isaac sighed. Well, at least some of his family loved him.

“Oh yeah, Robyn says he loves you, but he can't call since Mom's going to be checking his phone calls.”

Isaac choked up at this.

“Oh, sorry, probably not the best time to say that. But yeah, call me back when you get out here, and I'll get you into all the parties! We can be wingmen!”

“Can Rudolf come too?” Isaac asked after he swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Sure, Rudolf can come, we'll get you guys set up with some nice girls and...”

“No, I mean can Rudolf come with _me?_ ” Isaac asked.

“I just said…” Lewis began before going quiet. “Oh, you mean you and him going together like… Yeah, sure! You guys will be the best wingmen I could ask for! And hey, real happy to hear that, bro! It's about time.”

“Thanks.”

“Hit me up whenever you need me, Colin too!”

“Yeah, will do. Talk to you later.”

He hung up.

 

The rest of the evening was spent in washing dishes and a few rounds of Uno with the Jones family.

“The couch folds out into a bed,” offered Maggie. They didn't have a guest room. “I can't say it's very comfortable, but it's something.”

“Well, he can sleep in my room,” Rudolf suggested.

Maggie thought this over.

“Well, if Isaac would like that,” she said.

Isaac nodded. “I think I would.”

“All right then, well, Rudolf knows where the linen closet is if you need anything, I hope you have a good night.”

Isaac went upstairs to Rudolf's room. Maggie sighed.

“Well, Rudolf,” she said. “You know what I told you on your birthday.”

Rudolf nodded. “Yeah, if I have boys in my room with the door closed, make sure to use protection.”

“I'd rather you be safe and comfortable and enjoying your privacy if you're going to do it anywhere.”

Rudolf grinned. “Love you, mom.”

“Love you too. Good night!”

Rudolf went upstairs and found Isaac in his room, sitting on his bed. He'd taken off his clothes except for his boxer shorts, revealing his limber body.

“So… yeah…” Rudolf sighed. “I guess we're a couple now.”

“We've been one for awhile,” Isaac replied, shrugging.

Rudolf chuckled and took his clothes off. The two boys laid down on bed next to each other.

“So, how do we do the… couple thing?” Rudolf asked after they looked at each other for a few minutes.

“I like your smile,” Isaac said after thinking for a few minutes.

“Isaac Penworth, are you flirting with me?”

“I like… your butt.”

“I like your butt too.”

“No, you can't copy, come up with something else.”

“Okay… I like your eyes.”

“Aw… I like… the way you make me feel when I feel horrible about myself.”

“I like the way you make me feel whenever you're around, like every moment could be an adventure.”

“It could be...”

“Oh, you lost, now I get to kiss you!”

Isaac smiled, happy to have lost their flirting game. Rudolf grinned and put his lips on Isaac's. It just felt right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Rachael Anderson for her advice on how to handle Robyn's character in this chapter.


	4. Los Angeles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isaac and Rudolf get started in show business where they assume the best jobs are, but they discover some sinister and surprising things awaiting them.
> 
> Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. While a few characters are lovingly based on actual people, all such information is entirely fictious and should not be considered an actual statement about that person.
> 
> The characters of Hunter Dawes and Nick Evans are created by Jon Miranda.

“Are you sure Los Angeles was the best idea?” Rudolf asked one day.

 

After arriving in California, Isaac decided it was time to put his magic to work and do some shows. And surely the best place to do that would be in southern California, around Los Angeles and San Diego.

Or so they'd thought.

With some commitments and pre-sales, Isaac and Rudolf had moved into a little studio apartment. Isaac was able to use his magic to make the place seem bigger than it actually was, but it didn't change the reality that they were in a very small and very cheap apartment, and not in the best neighborhood.

Isaac had thought he could hire his services to movie studios, whipping up real but harmless effects on set in place of CGI. However, it turned out many of those films didn't film in California at all, and the time Isaac would be needed on set would interfere with the shows he'd signed up for. And in any case, while effects actually filmed in front a camera looked better than CG, that move would put any number of special effects and makeup artists out of work, and Isaac decided that perhaps he should reserve these talents for smaller films that didn't have much of an effects budget.

Isaac had to focus on his magic shows. They had decided on certain attire for their acts. Isaac would dress stylishly in a black tux with a bow tie. Rudolf, however, would be the sex appeal, dressing in tight t-shirts or just a vest over his pecs and abs, or sometimes just do the act bare-chested. Beneath his chest, he might wear tights, a speedo, skinny jeans, leather pants, or just casual pants. Having a very attractive guy onstage would take the audience's minds off of the fact that the acts they were doing were actually very real.

Isaac wondered if he might be invited to join the famous Magic Castle, but while many of the magicians were interested in working with him, they decided not to add him to their ranks because he was not an illusionist. He was invited to join the academy, but he decided this might not be the best option at the moment.

“You got a real knack for performing, though,” a man at the Magic Castle told him. “Just keep at it, you'll get your audience eventually.”

“Thanks,” Isaac muttered as the man walked off.

“Isaac,” Rudolf whispered at his side, “didn't you see who that was?”

“No.”

“It was Neil Patrick Harris!”

“Cool.”

“That's the hook you need, _celebrity guests!_ ” Rudolf continued. “Get people in to see the guests, they'll see the act and become fans of the magic, go ask him!”

Neil really liked the idea of appearing in a show with Isaac and they immediately began planning their show. Tickets began selling quickly, and Isaac began thinking that Rudolf was on the right track.

The show opened well enough with Isaac pulling Rudolf _and_ Neil out of a hat and then Neil helping Isaac saw Rudolf in “two.” Tonight, Rudolf had opted for a vest and leather pants ensemble, and two of him dressed that way was certainly delighting the audience. Neil was dressed in a nice tux with a scarlet colored coat and bow tie. The four of them performed several tricks just as they'd rehearsed.

“And now for our next trick,” Isaac began before he was cut off by the two Rudolfs lifting him onto their shoulders.

“Hey, what are you up to?” he asked before he noticed Neil opening his jacket and exactly like a cartoon character, pull out what appeared to be a bicycle tire pump.

“I think we could add some levity to the proceedings,” Neil chuckled. One of the Rudolfs handed him one end of a cord, and Isaac realized the other end was tucked into the folds of his clothing.

“Hey, we didn't rehearse this!” Isaac protested as Neil attached the cord to the pump and began pumping.

“Yeah,” admitted one of the Rudolfs, “but we decided this would be a lot more fun!”

As Neil pumped, Isaac watched his torso swell out like a balloon. It wasn't painful or uncomfortable, just a little unusual to suddenly be swelling up in the air. His clothes stretched as if they were a living, growing thing around him as his arms, legs and neck shrank into his rounding body.

In fact, he was rising from the Rudolf's grip into the air. The audience was laughing and applauding. At first Isaac felt indignant, then he had a second thought.  _They were having a great time._

Neil stopped pumping and slipped the pump back in his coat, where it seemed to simply vanish. He walked behind the two Rudolfs, looking up.

“Don't let the audience laugh at you,” he whispered to Isaac. “Make them laugh _with_ you.”

“Wow, you should see the view from up here!” Isaac chuckled. His voice sounded comically high-pitched, as if he'd inhaled helium.

“What'd happen if his pants ripped?” one of the Rudolfs asked.

“There'd be a full moon out tonight,” the other one replied. The audience roared at the joke.

“We'd have to evacuate the theater then,” Isaac commented. “Women and children first, of course.” This raised a few more chuckles.

Isaac barely noticed that he was sinking closer to the stage when suddenly Neil kicked his foot out and pushed Isaac into the audience.

“Whoa!” Isaac called as the crowd began batting at him, making him bounce around and raising more laughter. “Hey there, easy! Whoa, getting a little fresh there, aren't you?”

As Isaac bounced to the back of the theater, he suddenly resumed his normal, non-inflated form, except he was sitting across the lap of a handsome gentleman with clear blue eyes and nicely styled dark hair.

“Well, guess you won the prize,” Isaac commented.

The man grinned as Isaac got up and made his way back to the stage.

“Enjoy your trip, Isaac?” Neil asked, grinning.

“Very invigorating!”

“You looked cute, babe,” one of the Rudolfs chuckled.

“Thanks! Now for our next act...”

Isaac waved his hand and a peculiar box appeared onstage. It had a heavy base and a square frame that seemed to fit around someone's torso.

“Neil, care to hop in?”

“All right...” Neil said smiling, though there was a hint of curiosity in his voice as since that last act, the show was now not what they had rehearsed at all.

The two Rudolfs helped Neil to the base and fitted the frame on him. It fit over his shoulders and ended near the waist. He had to bend his arms to fit them inside.

“Well, Neil,” Isaac said calmly, “seems you've decided to give our show a little twist. Well, that's very fun. How's about a little spin?”

Neil grinned. “You spin me 'round,” he chuckled.

“Okay… go!”

The two Rudolfs grabbed either side of the frame and began turning it. The section of Neil's body in the frame began turning independently of the rest of him. However, that section began wrapping around itself, thinning out. The Rudolfs finally stopped turning once that part of Neil was now about the width of his neck. Neil looked down at himself in amazement.

“You feeling all right?” the Rudolf to Neil's right asked.

“Yeah… wow!”

“Can you wiggle your fingers?” asked the other Rudolf.

Neil nodded and the twisted midsection began to wiggle.

The audience applauded and some even audibly expressed their awe.

The two Rudolfs pulled the frame off. Immediately, Neil's upper half began spinning as if he was wound up with a rubber band, resuming his normal form. The audience laughed and clapped. Once the spinning stopped, Neil stood there, back to normal, and holding his head.

“Coulda warned me that it makes you a little dizzy...”

“Not like I'd know,” Isaac commented. He waved his hand and the device vanished. “And now, the question you all want to know the answer to… I made one become two, how to make two back into one?”

“Is he talking about me?” one of the Rudolfs asked.

“Yeah, he's talking about me,” the other one replied. “Who else?”

Isaac lunged forward and threw his arms back dramatically, making both of the Rudolfs vanish.

“Hey, where'd he go?” Neil asked in astonishment.

“He'll be back in a moment.”

Isaac pulled a colorful, small box out of his pocket. It had a small handle on the side that turned clockwise. After being sure the audience saw it, Isaac began turning the handle. It began playing a soft, slow version of “Pop! Goes the Weasel,” but the thing the audience noticed most was that as the handle was turned, the box was growing larger. Rapidly so. As it grew, Neil grabbed one end of the box and Isaac held the other and soon, they set it on the stage. It stopped growing when it was about four feet high.

Finally, as the song played through for a second time, it reached the “Pop!” moment, and the box sprang open, and Rudolf—just one this time—jumped out of it, to cheers and applause. He bowed, and the box fell apart, vanishing from the stage.

“It's about time to wrap things up,” Neil said out loud. “Just one thing… would you two mind standing over there?”

He gestured to the center of the stage. Isaac and Rudolf shrugged and walked to the area.

“I just want to say,” Neil continued, “Isaac, you and Rudolf make a handsome pair. Come on, give each other a hug.”

Isaac smiled and embraced Rudolf.

“There we go. Aww, aren't they lovely, folks?”

The audience sighed, but were shocked to see a gigantic grandfather clock fall on top of Isaac and Rudolf. They vanished from sight underneath it.

“Whoa, looks like time's really up!” Neil commented. “I've heard of beating the clock, but I guess the clock beat them!”

Neil pushed the clock over and it hit the ground with a thud. He lifted up a large round object about three feet in diameter. The side Neil displayed to the audience revealed Isaac and Rudolf's flattened faces with shocked expressions. Highlighting the side was one of Rudolf's hands, flattened. Around their faces could be seen details of their clothing. The reverse side featured the soles of their feet around flattened patterns that had the same colors and textures as their pants.

“Looks like our lovely couple has had some pressing circumstances, well, never fear, Neil is here!”

Neil tucked the disc under his arm.

“You've all been a wonderful audience, please give a round of applause for Isaac the Incomparable and Rudolf!”

The audience began applauding and cheering as Neil disappeared from the stage in a puff of smoke.

 

“You could have warned me,” Rudolf sighed back in the dressing room. “Flattening by magic doesn't hurt at all, but the leather pants rubbing up against you… That's the real torture.”

“How come you guys went off the plan?” Isaac asked them.

“The fun part is the element of surprise,” Neil replied.

“Just how did you manage to make it work?” Rudolf asked Neil. “How'd you know Isaac's magic would work like that?”

“I didn't,” Neil replied with a smirk. “I knew _mine_ would.”

Rudolf's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Isaac whistled.

“Well, it would figure that if anyone else in the world had magic powers like mine, it'd be Neil Patrick Harris.”

“Yeah,” Neil chuckled. “Just keep it on the down low, you know. Always had them, I usually just use them a tiny bit to put a fun bit of flair on an act. Something people might not notice or think too much about.”

“You're an illusionist, though,” Rudolf observed.

“Yeah, and so could you with five easy payments of $9.99.” Neil chuckled. “Well, I'm actually an actor, but I know my illusions. I also know my magic. Which is why I keep it secret.”

“Do you know anyone else who's got powers like this?” Isaac asked with curiosity.

“Sure, but I can't tell you who, those are their secrets, not mine, what I will say is… you'll thank me later.”

“What do you mean?”

“What we do next. We do our interviews with the press, talk about how the show got out of hand, we both claim to be the better entertainer, some day, we have a match, then a rematch… it'll be fun.”

“Why would we want to do that?” asked Rudolf. “Why couldn't we just be friends?”

“We can be friends, but if you want to get noticed, you do one of these events; you want free publicity, you get into a feud. We'll play it up as bitter rivals, even though we're brother magicians.”

Isaac and Rudolf looked to each other.

“I guess this is the big break we needed.”

“A few other tips for you guys,” Neil went on, “stay in the moment, always read the audience and make sure they're having fun. If you're going too far with an act, start scaling it back to where they're comfortable. Try it again from another angle if it's too much. Remember, you want to amaze the audience, not disgust them.”

“Got it,” Isaac nodded. “Thanks for the help, Neil.”

“Anytime, guys, it's been a pleasure!”

Neil headed out the door.

Isaac hugged Rudolf and they began to change their stage costumes for casual clothing.

“So, think we might hire another assistant?” Rudolf asked.

“If we get bigger, sure,” Isaac replied, grinning as he watched Rudolf pull a form-fitting t-shirt over his chest.

There was a knock at the door.

“Wonder who that is?” Isaac muttered as he opened the door.

Behind the door was a medium sized young man. He was stocky with sandy brown hair and piercing gray eyes.

“Sorry, we don't do fan meet and greets,” Rudolf said as soon as he saw the man.

“I'm not a fan,” the man said. His voice was cold and calm, and something about him made Isaac and Rudolf uneasy.

“So what do you want?” Isaac asked.

“You're wasting your time with these magic shows, you're powerful, like me. You could take control, take whatever you want.”

“Wait, who are you?”

“My name is Damian, Damian Nefar, but you can call me Damian the Great.”

“Magician's names are more fun when they're alliterative,” Rudolf commented, “like Isaac the Incomparable.”

“I have no intention of entertaining simple folk with my magic,” growled Damian. “I am Damian the Great, just like Alexander the Great, the conqueror.”

“You want to be a conqueror?” Isaac asked skeptically.

Rudolf picked up a phone and made a call to the front desk.

“Of course,” Damian went on, “and I'm making you the offer now. Join me and we can rule together, take vengeance on anyone who's hurt us. Oh, I know all about you, Isaac Penworth. We have similar paths, but you took a more peaceful way out.”

“I'm not interested in hurting anyone,” Isaac said sternly. “So I'm going to refuse. All I want is to live happily with Rudolf.”

Damian smirked. “Very well, you may have that, but I warn you, stay out of my way or the consequences will be dire.”

“Is there a problem here?” asked a security guard, walking down the hall to the door.

“Yes,” Damian said. He held up a hand and a glowing orb flew from it, hitting the guard in the chest. The guard collapsed on the floor, writhing in pain.

“What did you do to him?” Isaac demanded.

“Just shutting down his circulatory system,” Damian grinned. “Like I said, stay out of my way.”

He laughed and ran down the hall as Rudolf bolted forward.

“Isaac! Do something!” Rudolf cried.

Isaac hurried forward and felt the man's chest. He had never tried to do magic to change something about how someone's body worked before. Could he stop it? The guard's pulse and heart rate were slowing.

“No,” Isaac sobbed. “No… I can't… I can't have this!”

“Help me…” groaned the guard before his heart stopped. His body went limp and his eyes closed.

“No no no,” moaned Isaac. “I… I can't have someone die because of me! I can't!”

“I'm afraid it's too late,” said a calm, soothing voice.

Isaac looked up and saw the man whose lap he'd landed on during the show.

“Please don't tell me you know the guy that did this,” Rudolf said as he stood in the doorway.

The man took a phone out of his pocket and dialed a number.

“We have a body to pick up,” he said and gave the address to the theater. After this, he put the phone away and sighed.

“Hunter Dawes, FBI,” he said at last. “I'm in the magical persons observation department.”

“You… what?” Rudolf wondered aloud.

“The government is quite aware of magical people and tasks our department with monitoring your public actions to ensure law and order is retained.” He crossed his arms. “Most magical people like yourself do not go public with their powers.”

“That Damian guy is getting away!” Isaac cried, getting up.

“I have other agents around the building, what did he look like?”

Although Isaac was able to tell Hunter precisely what Damian looked like, I'm sorry to report that they did not apprehend him that night. As soon as he was out of Isaac's sight, he ducked into the first bathroom he found. Using his magic, he changed his form so that he grew into a tall man with pale blonde hair. Except for his piercing gray eyes, no one would ever think that he and the man Isaac described were one and the same. Thus, the murderer walked freely out of the theater and would never answer for the crime.

“This can't happen again,” Isaac sighed as agents with a stretcher and a body bag entered the hallway and began lifting the guard's body into the bag before carrying it away. “I can't have someone else die because of me. There's got to be some way to stop this magic before it takes a life.”

“There may be,” Hunter sighed. “Look, I'm already breaking protocol by letting you know who I am, but I can tell you two don't have any ill intent. Research what you can do, practice as long as no one gets hurt.”

“You're supposed to be monitoring us?” Rudolf asked.

“Yes, as you can see, with magical people, things could easily get out of hand. We want you to enjoy your privacy, but we have to keep an eye on potentially dangerous people. So, you'll see me around, but don't mind me. I'll approach you if something strange happens, but otherwise, keep doing what you have been, and you should be in the clear.”

 

“Are you sure Los Angeles was the best idea?” Rudolf asked the next morning as they laid in bed together.

Isaac sighed.

“Someone's dead because of me,” he said. “I… I don't know.”

A few minutes of silence later, Isaac's phone rang.

“Hello?” Isaac asked as he answered it.

“Hey there!” an excited voice on the line began. “I'm Nick Evans of Evans Talent Agency, I caught your show last night and wow, what a blast! So, I'm offering you a deal, how'd you like to be the starring attraction at my theater in San Francisco?”


	5. Brock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Isaac and Rudolf hire a secondary assistant while uncle Edwin discovers some information.
> 
> The characters of Nick Evans and Brock Wolfe are created by Jon Miranda.

San Francisco just made sense. Not only were Colin and Lewis about to graduate, it was where the Jones family had moved to. Why not be closer to family?

Furthermore, Nick's offer was just too good to pass up. He and Isaac talked on the phone and exchanged e-mails about it. The theater would run shows every night with Isaac's magic show being the featured act with four shows a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Local and touring bands and artists would follow the magic shows with a concert, and other acts including plays and musicals and special film screenings would be presented Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Nick was also interested in arranging tours for Isaac.

In addition, Nick had a good relationship with the owner of an apartment building. He could help Isaac and Rudolf get moved in as soon as they'd arrive. As the featured act, their apartment would feature a total of three bedrooms.

So needless to say, Isaac and Rudolf signed with Nick as soon as all the details were clear.

Isaac, Rudolf and Nick agreed on one thing: they would need to get another assistant. This assistant would fill in for Rudolf, sit in the audience and help them get excited, and on slower nights, would join the act as a “volunteer” from the audience.

Nick recommended that they look up his website and pick one of the models or actors he had signed to the agency. However, Isaac decided to run open auditions in Los Angeles during their last week there as they filled some final commitments and packed up.

“After all, why put it off?” he asked Rudolf as they took a few hours at a park to see who'd show up.

“Because whoever we pick is going to have to move to San Francisco and not everyone might be up for that?”

Isaac shrugged.

“That's probably why no one's turned up yet.”

Almost on cue, someone did walk up to them. He was tall, notably muscled, handsome, and had sandy blonde hair with a scruffy beard and mustache.

“Hey, are you the guys doing the auditions?” he asked with a deep and rich voice.

“I already like him,” Rudolf said to Isaac.

“Yeah, that's us,” Isaac replied.

“Hey, nice to meet you.” He handed Isaac a headshot and piece of paper that had his previous credits. Isaac began to read it.

“Brock Wolfe, nice name,” Isaac commented as he looked at the list. “Not a lot of work here… Extra, _Agents of DEFENSE_ , walk on role, _The Flower Lady_ , twerking dancer for 'unknown YouTube video?'”

“Yeah, please don't look that up.”

Rudolf was glancing at his phone.

“Rudolf!” Isaac cried.

Rudolf put his phone away.

“Have you acted on stage before?” Isaac asked. “We need you to be in the moment and come up with good stuff on the spot.”

“Yeah, I can do that,” Brock shrugged.

“We asked about experience,” Rudolf stated. “Have you done improv acting ever?”

Brock sighed. “No, but I know I'd be great at it if I just get the chance.”

Isaac thought. “I was really wanting to make sure we had someone who'd be able to work with how we do our shows. We have to  keep the audience going with what we're doing. We need to stay spectacular and entertaining.  All of us need to be on the top of our game.”

“And I can do that! Just give me a chance.”

“You seem desperate,” Rudolf commented. “I guess you really need this gig?”

“Yeah, no one's ever given me a real shot before. I didn't do well in school, my parents were fighting all the time, I've basically just had to look out for myself all the time. Since I was fifteen.”

“You've been on your own since then?” Isaac asked. “Did you run away from home? Drop out of school?”

Brock nodded sheepishly.

“You got courage, I can admire that,” Isaac said. “Maybe if you just applied yourself, you could get a bit further.”

“How can I do that if no one gives me a chance?” Brock asked.

Isaac and Rudolf looked at each other.

“I mean, I don't plan on taking time off anytime soon,” Rudolf commented. “We can take the chance. If he's absolutely not working out, we can take a look at who Nick has available.”

I saac nodded.

“Okay, then,” he said, turning to Brock. “We're going to take you in, on condition that you understand that we're going to have to train you quickly. If you can't do it, we'll have to look for someone else.”

“You won't have to, I promise!” Brock replied with a grin. “I'll be the best assistant you ever had.”

“Second best,” Rudolf chuckled. “You're the secondary assistant.”

“Well, I'll be the best secondary assistant ever!”

 

Nick was upset that Isaac and Rudolf had hired someone outside of his agency. He revealed that he hadn't meant that they look at his already signed list of talent as a suggestion, but a mandate. He wasn't interested in signing anyone new aside from Isaac and Rudolf. But Brock had basically followed Isaac and Rudolf home and was already beginning to pick up on the cues and jokes, so Isaac decided to drive a hard bargain.

“Brock is now part of our act,” he declared. “And if Rudolf and I go, he goes. And if he doesn't go, we don't go.”

“Are you trying to force my hand?” Nick demanded over the phone. “Do you think I can't find another magician to lead instead of you?”

“Can you?” Isaac asked. “Remember, I'm one of the few performing magicians who isn't an illusionist. Actually, I think I'm the only one.”

“Well…”

“Either you sign Brock or you can un-sign us and we'll just have to make do until we get our next offer.”

Rudolf grabbed the phone. “Hey, Nick, ol' buddy, I think Brock will prove a real asset to you. Hold on, let me send you some photos.”

Brock and Rudolf had been experimenting with Brock's stage costume. At the moment, Brock was wearing a skin-tight singlet. Using his own phone, Rudolf took a few photos of Brock posing in it and smiling and immediately sent them to Nick.

Nick went quiet on Isaac's phone for a couple minutes.

“Okay,” he said at last, “if you're sure, we'll take him.”

“There we go!” Isaac chuckled. “See you next week, Nick!”

 

Brock didn't leave Isaac and Rudolf's apartment. When they asked him if he needed to get home, he explained he'd been staying with a couple actors who had let him sleep on their couch. He had just managed to get a nice suit of clothes and a shower and a couple print outs for his audition. All he really had were clothes, and they weren't worth going back for.

“If any couch will do,” Rudolf suggested, “he could just stay with us, we'll all be moving soon anyway.”

Isaac wondered at trusting Brock so strongly at first, but it was clear that the guy had no ill-intent towards them. He wanted to learn the part right away. That night, after Brock had tried several costumes—he settled on a pair of tight-fitting jeans and a cute bow tie—they sat on the couch, drinking tea and tossing jokes and situations at each other. Brock certainly was picking up on how to do improv. Maybe Isaac was right. All the guy needed to do was apply himself.

 

About three o'clock in the morning, Isaac woke up and discovered he, Rudolf and Brock had all fallen asleep together on the couch. Brock's arm was around Rudolf, whose head was on Brock's shoulder.

Isaac got up and turned off the light. He was considering whether to go to the bed or back to the couch when he noticed his phone's notification light glowing. He picked it up and saw he had a missed call and text message from Uncle Edwin. “Call me back ASAP,” it read. It would be about six in the morning in Maine, so Isaac decided to risk the call.

“Isaac?” Edwin's voice came over the phone.

“Yeah, what is it?” Isaac asked.

“Well, you'd told me about that guy who killed that guard with his magic.”

“Oh, yeah...” Isaac had tried to forget that, and it was almost too easy with the news about San Francisco and meeting Brock. “Did you find anything?”

“Yes, there is a way to stop someone from dying from that,” Edwin said. “Just, there's a couple complications.”

“Do I have to make a deal with the devil?” Isaac asked.

“Nothing like that. See, the way to do it is to put the person's circulatory system in overdrive, and there's really only one thing that can do that. You have to regress their aging rapidly.”

“What? I can do that?”

“Yes. The person you're trying to save will end up much younger than before they were attacked, but they'll be alive.”

“So, they get to be younger, is that all?”

“Well… No.”

“Okay, what's the worst of it?”

“Age regression is touchy. If you can use it slowly, the person will just get younger and there should be no problem. But if it's rapid, their body—their mind!—is changing too quickly for them to adjust. And so, they lose a lot of their memories. Their mind has to dump those memories to adjust to their younger body.”

“Oh… and considering how fast that deadly magic works…”

“You have no choice but to do it rapidly. And while you can make someone younger, you can't make them older. You can make them look older, but in their mind, they'll still be that young person.”

Isaac sighed.

“Then I'd better hope I never have to do that. If I take someone's memories away, I take away the person they were. So, I'd be saving their life, but I wouldn't actually save them.”

“Exactly.”

“How'd you know about this?”

“I was a gay magician with a cute boyfriend. I kept him perky.”

Isaac chuckled.

“Any sign of Earl?” he asked after a moment.

Edwin sighed.

“No. In fact, I've made up my mind: if he's still alive, he doesn't want me anymore.”

“And any answers as to what happened to your magic?”

“No, but I feel certain somehow that I didn't just lose them. Someone took them.”

“Oh. Do you know how they did that?”

“No clue.”

“Ah. So, why are you still out in Maine? Come out west to San Francisco! You can see my shows, meet new people, maybe date someone new.”

“Well, I guess I can come check out a show,” Edwin chuckled. “But I don't know. Do I want to meet someone new? I gave my heart to Earl. I can't just bounce back from that, even if it was years ago.”

“Okay, well, give me a heads up when you head out, I'll arrange for a free ticket.”

“Yeah, that theater sounds… strange.”

“Strange?”

“Yeah, like a Branson thing.”

“Branson?”

“Missouri.”

“Oh, right. Well, Nick thinks it'll work, and we'll just have to see how it rides.”

“Well, hey, best of luck to you boys. Give my love to Rudolf!”

“Will do.”

“Good night!”

Isaac hung up the phone and put it down. He curled up on the couch next to Rudolf and put his arm around him and Brock and in a few moments, the magician was fast asleep.


	6. The Debut

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting back after a long delay, Isaac and Rudolf are finally in San Francisco and have their first show at their new theater!
> 
> The characters of Brock, Nick, Josh, Adam and Fernando are created by Jon Miranda and used with permission.

“Higher!” called the tall, dark haired man. “There! Just there… Perfect!”

The workmen stopped adjusting the rich red curtain so it hung just right above the stage.

“You’re Nick, I presume?” Isaac asked.

Nick turned to find Isaac, Rudolf and Brock standing just behind him. Immediately, he grabbed Isaac’s hand and began shaking it.

“Isaac, baby, great to meet you face to face! Wow! You look just like your pictures! Rudolf, wow, ever thought about modeling?”

“I did a couple gigs back in LA,” Rudolf replied.

“WHAT IS THAT?” Nick bellowed, looking at Brock.

“He’s a Brock, not a that,” Isaac sighed. “And I told you, he’s in or...”

“I don’t mean him!” Nick interrupted. “I meant THAT!” He pointed at Brock’s mouth where a small white paperboard stick was poking out.

“It’s a sucker,” Brock replied, taking it out of his mouth.

“Yes, I brought some for the ticket booth to give out to kids who attend our shows,” Isaac explained. “I thought that we might even partner with local confectionery shops to...”

“Are you stupid?” Nick asked Brock angrily. “Do you think you’re a CHILD?”

“I just like candy,” Brock muttered with a shrug as he popped the sucker back in his mouth.

Nick rolled his eyes and looked back at Isaac.

“You better not let me down on this one.”

“Brock has been practicing with us since we met him,” Rudolf reassured Nick. “He’ll do great!”

Nick looked back over at Brock. The sucker suddenly slipped out of his mouth and fell to the floor. Instantly Brock grabbed it, looked it over and shrugged.

“Five second rule.”

He popped it back in his mouth. Nick sighed.

“Well, I’ll let you have this one, I hope he doesn’t let us down during a show.”

“I won’t,” Brock promised.

“See that you don’t,” Nick warned Brock and went to go check on how the work on the stage was going.

“Wow, that guy hates me,” Brock sighed.

“He’s taking a chance on you,” Isaac explained, “and he’s already taking a chance with us as the lead act, even leasing this theater and doing this whole venture.”

“What Isaac’s trying to say is that maybe Nick feels like you’re one risk too many,” Rudolf added. “But hey, we trust you, all right?”

“Yeah,” Brock grinned.

 

Isaac, Rudolf and Brock walked down the hall of the apartment building. Isaac and Rudolf had just signed a few papers and claimed their keys. Brock was informed he’d be rooming with some of Nick’s other models and after signing a form, he also got a key.

Their apartments were directly next door from each other. Isaac and Rudolf found their apartment to be spacious, with three bedrooms, already furnished. Brock’s was a different story. He and the three other models—Josh, Adam and Fernando—shared one bedroom. None of them minded as the three guys had accidentally bought a bed far too large and it filled the entire room. None of the guys minded it, and after meeting them, neither did Brock.

Isaac and Rudolf invited Brock to share their apartment, but he turned them down.

“These guys will be fun to hang with,” he said with a grin. “And it’s not like you guys are my parents.”

“Well, how about you all come over for dinner tonight?” Rudolf offered. “We can get a little more settled in and acquainted.”

“Is it going to be vegan?” asked Fernando. “They say I should only eat vegan foods to keep this body up.”

“You ate a burger yesterday,” countered Josh.

“Burgers are vegan.”

“No, they’re not.”

“Uh, yeah they are! They say the best food is vegan, and Wattaburger has the best burgers, so it’s vegan.”

Brock blinked. “You look great, man.”

“Thanks for noticing.”

“Dinner will be great,” Isaac assured them. “You guys are welcome over anytime. Just knock first.”

“Yeah, same to you,” Adam replied. “Just be warned about Thursday. It’s Naked Day.”

“Why do you have Naked Day?” Rudolf asked. The three guys were wearing little more than underwear already.

“Gotta get the laundry done sometime.”

Isaac and Rudolf nodded and made their exit.

 

“You’re serious?” asked Maude Sanders. “That guy is your brother?”

“Yes,” Lewis replied as the ticket taker tore their tickets.

“Do you need a lanyard?” the ticket taker asked. “Anyone not wearing one might wind up as part of the act, which is not recommended if you have cardiovascular issues, shortness of breath or other problems that a sudden shock wouldn’t be recommended for.”

Lewis blinked. “Yeah, give us a couple.”

They were given two lanyards with metallic foil stamped on the cards and slipped the cords around their necks and then walked into the theater.

The seating area was full of round tables with comfortable seats on one side so all would be facing the stage. A few waiters attended the tables to take food and drink orders. Lewis decided to order some iced tea for himself and Maude, and as the waiter left, the show began.

An exciting, mysterious musical theme played as Isaac walked out onstage.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!” he said. “Thank you for attending our premiere performance at Enchantment Theater! We plan to mystify and entertain tonight, whether you believe what you see with your very eyes is entirely up to you. Now then, you might think I’d do a simple act like a common illusionist.”

Isaac began pulling a long string of colored handkerchiefs tied together out of his pocket.

“I am not a common illusionist.”

He finished pulling the string out, cracked it like a whip, and it vanished, but now Rudolf was standing right beside him. No flash, no smoke.

“Was that for real?” Maude whispered as she tried to figure out how it had happened.

“Yeah,” Lewis said with a grin as he watched Isaac and Rudolf do the good old “sawed in two” act.

It was satisfying for Lewis to watch Isaac. He remembered the act Isaac and Rudolf had done back for the school talent show and how Isaac had never done anything like that again. Now, here was Isaac, his act polished, the audience enthralled, doing his magic. He’d never seen his younger brother happier.

A notably handsome muscly guy was brought onstage from the audience and introduced himself as Brock.

“Are you sure you didn’t get up to show off?” Isaac asked.

“Just wanted to be a part of the magic,” Brock said with a shrug.

“I don’t think so,” grinned Rudolf in his dual bodies and ripped off Brock’s shirt, revealing his bare chest, bowtie and tight-fitting jeans.

“Well, you gotta look your best, right?”

“Exactly,” Isaac said and waved his hand. Seemingly from nowhere, a wheeled frame rolled out. A thin steel shelf rested on it. On top of it was a frame of metal bars with the two sides having a metal wall that wasn’t secured to them.

Both of the Rudolfs helped Brock into the frame. He laid on his back with his head and feet just touching the walls. One of the Rudolfs removed his shoes.

“Have you ever wanted to be thinner, Brock?” Isaac asked, standing behind him.

“Not really,” Brock replied. “I don’t hit the gym to get smaller.”

“Too bad.”

The two Rudolfs began pushing the walls in on Brock and before the audience’s eyes, Brock compressed between them.

“Hey, hold up!” he protested, pushing with both hands at the one pushing his head into his shoulders. But it was in vain, and in thirty seconds, the two walls were almost touching each other, a quarter inch of something that had apparently once been Brock between them.

“Don’t worry, folks, no one is ever hurt here!” Isaac assured the audience. “Not accidentally, anyway.”

The two Rudolfs opened the vice-like frame and Isaac brought out a large, round flat object. The front of it had Brock’s face in the upper middle portion and the palms of his hands on the lower right and left sides. His bowtie could be seen under his chin and the rest of the front had the color and texture of his skin, his nipples, pecs and the top of his abs flattened covering the rest. Flipping it over revealed a denim pattern and the soles of Brock’s feet, covered in dark socks.

“They say discs are losing to digital,” Isaac commented as he flipped it back over, “but I think there’s a certain physicality to them that just can’t be beat.”

He handed Brock to the two Rudolfs who peeled his fingers and toes up and began pulling him between them. They pulled until POP! Brock was being held between them. Laughing, they helped him get his shoes back on and sent him back to his seat where he resumed leading the audience in applause and laughter.

“Now, for our next act, can we get another volunteer from the audience?” Isaac asked.

“You should go up there,” Maude said, nudging Lewis.

“No, come on, I don’t want to...”

She pulled the lanyard off of his neck and stood, pulling him to his feet.

“He’ll go!” she called.

Isaac and Rudolf turned and looked. For a split second, they were both surprised to see a family member of Isaac’s in the audience. But only for that moment. The next moment they were back in performance mode, cheering and welcoming Lewis onstage.

“And your name is?” one of the Rudolfs asked.

“I’m Lewis,” he replied.

“And your lovely companion?” the other one asked.

“That’s my girlfriend, Maude.”

“Good to see you, Maude!” called Isaac.

She blew a kiss in response.

“Let’s hear it for Maude!” roared Brock and the audience applauded.

“Now then, Lewis,” Isaac continued, “ever get into sports?”

“I tried out for basketball once,” Lewis commented, “but in college, I joined a rad volleyball team.”

“That’s great!”

Isaac waved his hand and the frame rolled offstage. A different contraption rolled onstage. It looked like a playground slide, except the chute stopped short and rolled into a cylinder, tapering to a hole near the top. The device was about the size of a standard basketball goal.

“Mind climbing up?” Isaac asked. “It’s just like a slide.”

Lewis chuckled. “Sure thing.”

He climbed up the ladder on the back of the device. Once he was at the top, the Rudolfs stopped him.

“Take off your shoes, will you?”

“Huh?”

“It just works better if they’re not on.”

“Oh,” Lewis sighed and pulled his shoes off and tossed them to the Rudolfs.

“Okay, there he goes, folks!” called Isaac as Lewis slid into the device. There was a loud WHUMP sound.

“Okay, anytime now...” Isaac said, after waiting about thirty seconds.

“I think I’m stuck!” called Lewis’ muffled voice.

“Rudolfs, give him a hand,” Isaac instructed.

The two Rudolfs climbed the ladder and pushed with their arms. Unable to reach, they stuck their legs in and slid in themselves.

In a moment, a ball flew out of the end of the tube. Isaac caught it. Showing it off to the audience by turning it and spinning it in his hands, it quite clearly had Lewis’ face, his palms and the soles of his feet as well as details of his clothes, all squeezed and compressed into a nearly perfect sphere. This was followed by only one Rudolf.

“Looking very well-rounded,” chuckled Isaac as he tossed Lewis from hand to hand, then tossed him to Rudolf, who tossed him from hand to hand.

“Hey, Maude!” called Rudolf. “Go long!”

He threw Lewis to Maude, who caught him, but as her hand touched him, he popped back to normal, standing breathless in front of her. She hugged him and they sat down again.

The rest of the show was spectacular, ending in Isaac and Rudolf vanishing from the stage as glittery confetti fell and a burst of exciting music played.

Dressed in a nice, scarlet tux, Nick walked out onstage.

“I hope you enjoyed our first evening at Enchantment,” he said. “The local band Lustre will be playing in a few moments, but let’s have another round for Isaac the Incomparable and Rudolf!”

The applause was intense.

“How about we call Isaac out for an encore?” he asked, getting excited.

The audience cheered.

Isaac stepped up from backstage.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “I didn’t have an encore planned.”

“Oh, come on,” Nick protested. “The people want one! Can’t let them down, can we? Come on, any little thing will do!”

Isaac grinned.

“Okay, I got something.”

He grabbed Nick’s posterior with one hand and put his other hand on Nick’s head.

Nick gasped.

“Hey, what are you doing? Don’t get frisky...”

“You demanded an encore,” Isaac replied calmly before pulling his hands together. Nick collapsed in on himself between Isaac’s hands and when Isaac put his hands together, the only thing between them appeared to be a scarlet square of fabric. Isaac tucked it in his front tux pocket, making a handsome pocket square. He looked up and smiled at the audience.

“Thank you all so much for coming, have a wonderful night!”

 

After the band had finished and most of the audience had left, Isaac, Rudolf, Lewis and Maude sat at the theater’s bar having a few drinks. Brock had met a dashing gentleman and had gone off with him.

“I just gotta say it was awesome seeing you being so… happy!” Lewis remarked.

Isaac smiled. “I know, I can finally just be me.”

Maude smiled at Isaac. “You know, Lewis hasn’t said much about you.”

“Until I saw the ad for Isaac’s show, I didn’t know what he was up to,” Lewis explained. “You didn’t tell me about it.”

“Well, yeah...” Isaac admitted. “To be honest, I didn’t think about it.”

“Let’s just say we haven’t had much of a thought of getting Isaac’s family coming,” Rudolf added. “Mom and my sisters would’ve come, but they were busy tonight.”

“Out of sight, out of mind,” Lewis shrugged.

“So you’re not upset that I didn’t think of you?” Isaac asked. “I mean, I’m sure I can reimburse your ticket cost.”

“No worries, bro, it was a great show.”

Rudolf sighed and leaned back and glanced at Isaac’s coat.

“So, you gonna change Nick back?”

“Yeah, just let him sit for awhile. I’m his headliner and we just opened to a sold out crowd, I think my employment is pretty secure. Plus, he can’t say I didn’t do what I was told to do.”

And that was true enough.


	7. Robyn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A step away from the main story, we go catch up with Isaac's younger brother Robyn.

Robyn Penworth was doing good.

Sort of.

Deciding on a medical degree, Robyn decided to follow his brothers out to the San Francisco area. Staying in Maine was just too much. His parents loved him a lot, but he could see that his mother sometimes regarded him as “not the daughter she’d wanted.”

He had to get away and clear his head.

Identifying as transgender was a little strange for Robyn. He began attending trans support groups and made a number of friends. Some of them had gone through transitioning procedures, others presented themselves as the gender that they identified with, and still others were only out to members of the group.

Robyn simply said he had transitioned at a young age, but this made his parents sound super-supportive, when in actuality, it had been his strange, magical and—well—gay brother Isaac who had caused the whole thing. Robyn tried not to talk about it much as he didn’t want to call attention to the fact that he was related to a famous local performer.

Robyn reasoned that he was transgender as he’d spent his first thirteen years living as a girl and then came out as a boy and had to adjust to living his life differently. He knew the other people in the group had a very different experience, so he mainly kept quiet about it and was around the group mainly to support others.

There was just one nagging question that had come up in his mind: _Did I make a mistake?_ he’d wonder. _What if I’m actually a trans girl?_ His only reason for this was the fact that he couldn’t really hold down a romantic relationship with a girl. In fact, he fancied being intimate with a man. That was really what brought the question up. If he was a girl, he’d be straight. As it was, did that make him gay?

He remembered the time his mother discovered an article about Isaac’s show and the article quite clearly mentioned his boyfriend Rudolf and the use of homoeroticism in the show. She told Robyn and her husband that she never wanted to hear them talk about Isaac again.

_I’m already not the daughter she wanted,_ Robyn would think.  _This would make me not the son she wanted either._

So, there was a lot Robyn didn’t talk about. In fact, he didn’t even tell his brothers he was in the area.

Robyn soon graduated and began work at a hospital. He was assigned as doctor’s aide for a Dr. Evelyn Rogers, a nearly retired lady who was very kind to Robyn and helped him with a lot of experience as he got used to the job.

In a few months, though, Dr. Rogers began her retirement, and Robyn was informed that he’d be reassigned to another doctor the next week.

So, the next Monday, Robyn arrived at work, ready to meet the new doctor he’d be assisting.

“Oh, hey,” said Laura the receptionist as she saw Robyn walk in. “You’ve been assigned to Dr. Betancourt, over in 6-22.”

“Thanks,” Robyn replied and headed to the office. He wondered what his new doctor would be like.

_She’s probably brilliant,_ he thought. He’d noted that most of the staff at the hospital were women. The productive environment was also welcoming and quite caring, and Robyn was hoping to make sure the new doctor would feel every bit as welcomed as anyone else.

The door to 6-22 was open as Robyn approached, so he walked right.

“Hello, Miss Betancourt?” he asked.

The door to the adjoining bathroom opened and a man stepped out.

“I prefer Mr. Betancourt,” he said. “However, you can call me Brian.” He smiled.

Robyn blushed. “Oh, I’m sorry.”

“No worries,” Brian said as he stepped forward. “You’re Robyn?”

Robyn was looking over Brian, with his beige-colored, attractive body, his beautiful brown eyes under thick, shapely eyebrows and his hair in its big, black curls.

“You’re Robyn Penworth?” Brian repeated.

Robyn snapped out of his near-trance.

“Oh, yeah, that’s me.” He shook Brian’s hand. “Nice to meet you!”

Brian nodded. “Dr. Rogers told me about you on the phone since many of her patients are being reassigned to me. Says you’re an invaluable assistant, so I look forward to working with you.”

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to working with you too,” Robyn stammered.

Brian smiled and nodded.

“Do you have a speech impediment?”

“Oh, no!” Robyn said quickly. “I’m just… nervous meeting new people is all.”

“Ah, okay,” Brian patted him on the back. “It’ll pass, I’m sure. We’ll be great friends.”

_Okay_ , Robyn thought to himself,  _I have a crush_ .

Over the next few weeks, it became quite clear to Robyn that he really found Brian attractive. Which was a little distracting since he was Brian’s aide. But Robyn was professional and soon managed to keep his feelings under control.

_They’ll go away in time_ , he thought.

 

“Can I ask you a question?” Brian asked as they had lunch together one day while going over some paperwork.

“Sure,” Robyn replied.

“Why is your name spelled with a Y? I haven’t seen many guys with that spelling.”

Robyn’s stomach churned.

“It’s because,” he said nervously, “I’m trans. And I didn’t change my name after… well.”

Brian’s eyes brightened up.

“Oh, that’s interesting,” he added. “You’re a very attractive man.”

“Ditto,” Robyn replied without thinking.

Brian glanced over at him.

“You think I’m attractive?” he said with a smile.

“Well… yeah.” Robyn brushed away a bead of sweat.

Brian nodded. “After seeing a wall of ‘whites only’ on dating apps and Grindr, that’s really nice to hear.”

Robyn smiled. They were connecting!

“I don’t see how anyone could turn you down,” Robyn went on. “If I can be honest, it wasn’t just nerves when I first met you.”

“I kind of figured.”

“Oh.”

“So why didn’t you make a move then?” Brian asked.

“Well, there’s the no-dating policy,” Robyn said. “But, honestly, I kind of didn’t want to date a guy. Until you came in.”

Brian chuckled.

“I guess you had your own stuff to deal with.”

“You have no idea.”

“I don’t,” Brian admitted. “Want to tell me about it?”

“You ever heard of Isaac the Incomparable?” Robyn asked shyly.

Brian nodded. “Who hasn’t?”

“He’s my older brother.”

“You’re just full of surprises today.”

Robyn ignored this.

“Well, he was a little kid when my mom told him he was having another brother, but that she wanted to have a daughter.”

“And?”

“And he turned me into a girl months before I was born.”

“Get out.”

Robyn pulled out his phone and showed Brian a picture of younger version of himself. Long hair, t-shirt, jeans, but definitely feminine.

“That’s me at ten.”

Brian looked at the photo, then at Robyn, comparing the two as the information in his head snapped together. The little girl in the photo and the young man in front of him were clearly the same person.

“And here I am at fourteen.”

Robyn slid to the next picture. This was after Isaac had undid what he’d done as a child, and while Robyn’s style of dress hadn’t changed, he was quite clearly a boy.

“You mean…” Brian stammered.

“Isaac’s magic. Totally real.”

“Oh. You’re really giving me a lot to work with today...”

“Yeah. So at thirteen, I realized I was actually a male and he changed me back.”

“Okay… Your parents must have been so cool to put up with that.”

“Dad tries to understand. Mom… well… she doesn’t like Isaac.”

“She doesn’t like her own son?”

“She doesn’t like what he’s become.”

“Gay part included?”

Robyn nodded.

“And you’re kind of afraid of how she’ll act if you’re gay too?”

“Yeah.”

Brian sighed.

“Do you like me?” he asked.

Robyn closed his eyes.

“Yes,” he responded. “I was nervous because I instantly had a crush on you.”

Brian nodded and smiled.

“Are you doing anything tonight?”

“Well, my show’s on and…”

“I’ll come by your place with dinner and we’ll watch it together, how about that?”

Robyn looked over to Brian. He was smiling.

“Yeah, I… I think I’d like that.”

“Well, then,” Brian said, clearing away the remains of his lunch, “it’s a date.”

 

Robyn had to watch his show again later because he wasn’t able to concentrate on it much. Brian proved to be quite the cuddler, and before long, he was curling strands of Robyn’s hair between his fingers. In moments, Robyn had his head in Brian’s lap, and shortly, they began kissing. Robyn had never done this before, but it felt just like the most natural thing in the world. Brian stayed the night and neither of them would sleep alone very much afterward.

Although their coworkers liked seeing Brian and Robyn happy together, it was sadly only a matter of time before the two were reported and were told they could quit or be reassigned. Brian boldly decided to quit and open his own private practice with Robyn. Many of their patients decided to stick with them. Robyn and Brian moved into a nice little townhouse where they operated their practice. Brian’s parents sometimes visited from Cuba and loved seeing Robyn and how happy he made their son.

Robyn finally opened up and told Brian about his questions about his gender identity.

“I’d love you either way,” Brian told him as he held him close on their sofa. “I’m happy with you just as you are.”

Robyn smiled.

“I think I’m happy with myself just as I am too.”


	8. The Solo Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An old foe returns as Isaac is forced to do his show by himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Commission from a friend that I decided to officially add to the biography.

"Pick a card, any card," the fortune teller said.

Brock chuckled and randomly grabbed a card.

“Pick another,” the teller repeated.

Brock obeyed.

“What’s going on?” Isaac asked as he walked up.

“Getting my fortune told,” Brock explained.

“You really believe random cards can tell your future?”

“Nah, but it’s fun.”

Isaac looked towards the teller. They were robed with a hood covering their face, making them impossible to recognize. But the apparent build of the body was slight. The voice was mysterious in tone. What on earth had brought them to this street corner right outside Enchantment Theater?

“And now, pick the third card and your fortune will be revealed,” the teller said.

Isaac reached forward and grabbed a card.

“There we go!” he said. “My pick is as good as any, I suppose.”

The teller waved their hand and the cards vanished.

“Whoa!” called Brock.

The teller turned their hooded face to Isaac.

“Very well, and heed my words, whoever performs with you tonight will meet a terrible fate.”

They waved their arm and disappeared.

“Whoa, that’s freaky!” chuckled Brock.

“Guess you’ve gotten used to seeing strange things since you started working with us.”

“I get compressed into a flat shape or a ball every other night, you get used to weird stuff happening.”

Rudolf stepped out of the theater.

“There you guys are, we want to get a bite before we do the show tonight?”

“Man, I’m starving!” Brock replied as Isaac thought.

“Didn’t you have a tube of peanuts a half hour ago?” Rudolf asked.

“Yeah, that was half an hour ago,” was Brock’s reply.

“Okay,” Isaac said with a sigh. “We can go get dinner, but you guys are taking the night off.”

“What?” Rudolf asked.

Isaac explained about the fortune teller.

“Come on, you’re scared of some weirdo in a robe?” Rudolf asked in surprise.

“You’re my boyfriend, Brock’s our best friend, I’m not risking _either_ of you.”

“So cancel the show,” Brock suggested. “We all take the night off and go see a movie or something.”

“Try explaining that to Nick,” Isaac countered.

“And if you ran with a volunteer from the audience and something happened to them,” Rudolf mused, “that would get out and be pretty bad press for us. Not to mention it probably shouldn’t happen to _anyone_. But hey, if you can do the cut in two act by yourself, you can work with yourself!”

Isaac rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve never tried duplicating myself like that, and I’m not sure it’d work as well as I’d like… Anyway, what if the teller decides to give me the ‘terrible fate?’”

“So what are you going to do?” Brock asked.

“Do the show solo.”

 

The curtain opened that night to Isaac leaning against a stool while he looked down at a top hat.

“Tonight’s show is a little different,” he said out loud. “See, a favorite way to open the show is to pull either myself or my assistant out of a top hat, but tonight, I’ve elected to perform alone. The problem is, there’s not much of a way to be quite that spectacular on your own.”

He set the hat on the floor in front of his feet.  


“I suppose I could do the opposite,” he mused before jumping into the hat, his body rapidly tapering to squeeze into the hat before he vanished within, but a second later, he fell from the rafters of the theater and landed in a sitting position on the stool. “But as you can see, it just isn’t the same.”

The audience laughed and applauded. He stood and bowed.

“Tonight, we will prove that even going solo is no obstacle for Isaac the Incomparable!”

With a WHAM! A brick wall fell in front of Isaac.

“Oh ha ha, real funny,” came his voice. “Like you think I’m walled in or something?”  


The audience gasped in surprise as Isaac pushed his face through the wall as if it was an illusion. For all they knew, it was.

“Nothing holds me back!” Isaac laughed before stepping through.

The audience laughed.

“What’s the matter?” Isaac asked before looking down at himself. He had been wearing a tux with a bowtie, but after walking through the wall, he was only wearing a black speedo, a bowtie and black socks.

Isaac started when he heard a familiar whistle and he spotted Rudolf in the audience. Sitting near him was Brock, and some other guy, likely Brock had managed to get a date.

Isaac smiled. “Well, we usually offer two things here on my show, spectacular magic and eye candy. Tonight, I get to do both.”

He turned to show his backside off to the audience and coquettishly blew a kiss.

“Dude, your boss is hot,” Brock’s date observed.

“Oh, I knew that,” Rudolf chuckled, crossing his arms.

Isaac waved his arm and the wall vanished, revealing a clear stage, except for the top hat.

“I mean, since I’m working alone, there’s a limit on what acts I can do, but I think I can just bounce back.” Isaac jumped into the hat, disappearing inside of it.

The hat floated up off the stage a good six feet before turning upside down, dropping out Isaac, now compressed into a ball, his face, bowtie and black speedo highlighting an otherwise flesh colored ball. Isaac bounced, going a few inches higher each time.

The audience applauded.

“He’s never done anything like this before,” Rudolf whispered to Brock.

Isaac chuckled. “Okay, everyone, watch me go!”

He bounced to the right side of the stage and beneath him appeared a length of clear plastic tubing which he landed on, the tubing on either side of him acting as a guide rail. As he began to roll toward the left side of the stage, more tubing appeared ahead of him, running in circles, making a few loop-de-loops, Isaac following all the way. At a few places, cameras appeared on the track, capturing photos of the balled-up magician, winking.

Finally, the track reached its end after a long and twisty path. At the end appeared an air tank, Isaac grabbing a hose that extended from it in his mouth.

“Well, I guess we can’t say he does anything to us he won’t do to himself,” Brock muttered. His date was watching in awe.

The track vanished as the balled Isaac began to expand. He had been about three feet around, now he was easily growing to four, five, six… His arms and legs and chest reappeared, popping out, although they were swelling as well. His head popped back to it’s usual three-dimensional form. Soon, he began to rise and the pump vanished.

Rudolf smiled and nodded. “That’s my guy...”

Two glowing bars appeared on each side of the stage. Isaac floated towards one and it shot up and sent him flying to the other side of the stage, where the other bar shot him flying back.

“They’re playing PONG with him!” yelled Brock’s date, leading the audience into laughter.

Isaac smiled and the game sped up with him flying back and forth progressively faster and faster. Finally he was moving at a very fast rate and flew off to the left side of the stage.

A minute later, he walked back in his normal shape, still in his scanty outfit for the night.

“I hope you enjoyed that!” he said with a high-pitched voice.

The audience laughed once again.

“Sorry, still getting over that,” he continued, his voice returning to its typical tone. “I’ve never worked this much with props before.”

He patted one of the paddles. It fell on him, squashing him flat to the stage, then resumed its position.

And all was still for a minute.

“Is he okay?” Brock’s date asked.

“Uh… sure he is…” Brock replied. “Right, Rudy?”

“Come on, Brock, you know he is,” Rudolf replied with a smile as Isaac, now flattened into a disc, floated up into the air, turning so people could see his flattened face, hands, bowtie and chest on one side and his flattened butt on the other.

Rudolf, Brock and his date all led the audience in wolf whistles.

“Yeah, yeah, sexy round flat guys,” Isaac chuckled. “But you know, what can you do with them?”

“I can think of a few things!” Brock’s date called out.

The two paddles began circling around Isaac before they formed into a giant transparent funnel that hovered about six feet off of the stage.

“And here we go!” Isaac called. He dropped onto the edge of the funnel and began circling around the rim, the next go around taking him a bit further down the tunnel.

“I might need one heck of an aspirin!” Isaac called, launching even more laughter.  


Down and down and down Isaac rolled. Brock began cheering on his progress and the audience quickly got into it. Finally, Isaac reached the tube that would drop him to the floor of the stage. For a moment, he rolled around the top of the tube, spinning rapidly, before he dropped to the floor and as he hit it, he regained his usual shape.

As Isaac stood up, the funnel vanished.

“Okay, one more act before we bring on the band!” he announced. “You know, performing like this has been great! Really empowering to be up here and feel so sexy!”

He struck a pose, flexing his muscles, and as he did, they grew bigger, his chest becoming more defined and himself looking far more imposing.

“Holy shit!” Rudolf whispered under his breath.

Isaac smiled and flexed again, growing even bigger, looking more like a pretty fearsome pro wrestler than a magician.

Brock slumped back in his chair. “I would have to hit the gym three times a day and eat  _so much_ protein to even  _hope_ to look like that!”

“Third time’s the charm,” Isaac chuckled before flexing again, this time becoming ridiculously muscled and huge.

“The ever impressive Isaac,” Isaac paraphrased from _Aladdin_ , doing an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice. “Strong enough to hold my own against the Hulk, unstoppable, and an ass that doesn’t quit!”

He turned to show his now nearly globular butt off to the audience, who followed with applause.

“What, you thought this was the last act?” Isaac asked, turning to face the audience again. “Oh, no, I thought I’d…”

From the floor, two rollers appeared out of nowhere, rolling up against Isaac’s body and flattening him out into a huge, flat square shape.  


For a moment, Isaac stood flattened on the stage, his face and torso stretched to his entire width, including his speedo.  


“Uh… good night!” he said hoarsely before falling backward, then rolling himself up like a scroll and rolling off backstage.

Isaac was about to restore himself when he felt someone pick him up.

“Well played,” came the mysterious voice of the fortune teller, though now they sounded amused. “You dared not to risk another, so you yourself worked alone. Very noble.”

“Who are you?” Isaac managed to mutter despite being folded on himself.

“Some call me Fate the Cruel Mistress, others believe me to be Father Time, and there are other names for me. It is not important.”

“But why did you threaten Brock?”

“My presence was summoned by another magician like yourself,” was the explanation. “He made the request of me to transform someone close to you into a card to give to him so that he might force a confrontation between you two.”

“Damian?” Isaac asked.

“That was his name, yes. Right now, I believe the name I have given him suffices.”

Isaac found himself restored to his normal form and holding a tarot card. On it was a handsome, tall man with pale blonde hair and piercing grey eyes, dressed in rags. Underneath the picture was its title: “The Fool.”

“Will he always be a card?” Isaac asked.

“No, but he will be for a time. Perhaps an hour, perhaps millennia, but in time, he will recover his original form.”  


Isaac wondered what to do with the card when the fortune teller took it and tucked it into their robe. “Until then, he will make a fine addition to my deck. I shall never trouble you again, go in peace.”  


And with that, they were gone.

Rudolf, Brock and his date came backstage.

“Hey, man that was an incredible show!” Brock cheered.

Brock’s date held up a postcard from the gift shop, showing a balled Isaac rolling on the track. The gift shop contained many types of print-on-demand memorabilia that the printing machines would print and manufacture right in front of the customers.

“I simply _must_ have an autograph!” he said.

Isaac smiled and obliged.

“Okay, now let’s go!” Brock laughed. “See you later, boss!”

“Catch you later, Brock.”

Brock and his date left the back room.

Isaac turned to Rudolf who was smiling broadly and had his arms crossed.

“Enjoy the show?” Isaac asked.

“You should dress like this more often,” Rudolf commented.

“Well, it'd throw off the dynamic of the sexy assistant,” Isaac said with a small shrug. “Which is a little too bad, this was really invigorating.”

“I didn't mean for a show.”

“Oh... Okay, that we can do.”

Rudolf chuckled and flashed his eyebrows. “Yeah, some of your acts tonight, I think I’d like an encore, in private.”

“Well then,” Isaac replied with a seductive grin, “on with the show!”

“Hmm, I think you know which one I want to start with,” Rudolf said before playfully smacking Isaac on the head.

“Oh my!” Isaac exclaimed with a smirk as he compressed into a disc again, just like he’d done in his act. Rudolf picked him up and kissed him and drummed four of his fingers on the backside.

“Thanks, babe, let’s head home.” He tucked Isaac under his arm and headed for the exit.


End file.
